


The Daisy Chain

by Soldsoulpunk



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Choi Saeran After Ending (Mystic Messenger), Choi Saeran Good Ending (Mystic Messenger), Choi Saeran Route, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mostly fluff though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-05-13 07:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19247059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soldsoulpunk/pseuds/Soldsoulpunk
Summary: It's only been a few days since I came to Mint Eye, but I'd give anything to protect my friends.. Especially Ray.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I haven't written and published my works in sooooo long! I'd love any feedback anyone could give me, but I'm also just writing this to kind of deal with my emotions and make myself feel better and productive. Thanks friends!

It's been six days. Six days since I came to Mint Eye, since I met Ray. But in the last day I've developed such a nauseating feeling. I bite my lip as I shuffle through plans for the RFA party, replying to emails and looking at venues. The key card for the building sits on the desk to my right, purposely stashed under a large file labeled "seating arrangements". The file title is a poor attempt to distract from what's really in there. My handwritten notes and research on RFA, Mint Eye, and this Rika person. Jihyun wasn't here for Ray, he made that abundantly clear. He was here because he knows exactly what I know. No mask can fool me, this 'Savior' Ray speaks of, the manipulative terror at the head of this mysterious organization is Rika. It kills me to keep this from Yoosung, knowing exactly what he is going through after losing her. But I can't tell him. I can't be the one to tell him, not while she's like this at least. If she's ever a kindhearted person again, then we can tell him.. It would just break him to know who she is now. Every time Ray mentions her, my blood boils beneath my skin. I feel the heat rising and I want to march to her quarters and let her know exactly what I think of who she is and what she has done to my dear friend.. Huh.. friend isn't the word I'd like to use for Ray, but thanks to her, I don't think I have another option right now.

I lean my head on the desk in front of me, thinking about being in the garden with Ray earlier. Why did I kiss him? I know he's going through a lot and I only added to his confusion by doing that. The only person between the two of us that had ever really been an airhead is me. I'm selfish and stupid, I only think about what I want out of this relationship, but I don't think about what he's going through as a long time member of Mint Eye, and as someone who has only known abuse and gas lighting his entire life. I just wanted to make him happy, but I'm terribly afraid of what I've actually done. I should call and apologize.. Yeah, that's a really good idea, idiot. All you'll do is make it worse for the both of you!

"Fuck it, I'm calling him anyways." I whisper to myself. I'm not going to let Rika and any worst case scenario stand between being happy right now. I pick up the phone and dial Ray's number. It rings once... twice... three times... I'm just about to hang up when I hear it. "H-hello?" He whispers from the other line. I sit there with the phone in my hand and my other hand resting gently on my cheek. I just want to listen to him speak softly to me forever. "Are you there? Did you regret calling me?" he tries again, still whispering, maybe his throat still hurts. "No, I'm here. I just.. I wanted to hear your voice." and before I can even stop them from coming, the tears start pouring and I'm sobbing into the receiver. "I'm just not used to this, to falling for..." I stop, realizing what I'm saying and who I'm saying it to. "Falling for-" he stops, and I can hear him breathe in sharply. "You can't possibly mean me, can you? I'm dreaming. You wouldn't be saying this if it was real." I continue to cry, as someone who has been abused, I know the feeling of disbelief when someone cares for you again after a long time of being told you're worthless. I can't stop crying, and my sobs just grow louder. He hasn't hung up the phone yet, so maybe he realizes this isn't a dream. "Have you really fallen for me?" he whispers to me, as if he were whispering a magic spell, or a prayer. It was a sacred thing for him to hear and say. Could it be real? I wipe my nose with the sleeve of my shirt and sniffle a little bit "I've fallen for you so quickly, and it's so scary. Not that you're scary, but that we don't know what could happen to either of us. Neither one of us is in control of our own fates right now, and I want more than anything for you to be here with me right now. Not somewhere else in this building working yourself to death." I take a breath and the tears just wont stop. I'm so embarrassed. It's been a long time since I've poured my soul out to someone so completely and confessed my feelings, I almost don't recognize myself when I finally look up at my reflection in the window next to my desk. 

Ray is someone I've never expected to meet. He has made it so I think twice about who I am. I've always been a protector to my friends, I've always been there to rescue a wounded friend, but I've always been so helpless in relationships. I let my emotional baggage and trauma rule me and let me be someone who can be walked all over and treated like garbage. But Ray, he talks to me like I'm worth it. He's taking over the role of someone who wants to be ruled, and I don't want to rule him.. I just want to help him, I want to protect him and be there by his side. I fear for the future because I know I'm not completely in any position to save anyone right now. I'm a party planning, RFA deceiving monkey. If anyone is useless here, it's me.. But I can't let myself think that way.

After what seemed like years, he makes a noise. It's a sigh, not a hopeless forlorn sigh, but a happy sigh, full of hope and longing. "I hope you mean what you've just said." He pauses and lets out a small laugh, it's such a wonderful sound to hear from such a sad boy. "I've never felt like I can be myself and have people like who I am. I've been treated so badly in the past and... I'm sick, you know? I'm messed up and I'm wrong. I'm not worth good feelings, happiness or love.. Oh, I didn't mean that I just.. I hope you understood I wasn't implying! I-I-I'm sorry! I'm such a-" I can tell where this is going, and his self depreciating is heartbreaking so I cut him off "Ray, please don't say that. You're not an airhead or a moron. Those would never be words I would use to describe you. Those aren't words I would use to describe anyone. I think you're the most wonderful person I've ever met, and I mean that." The line is silent for a few moments before he gathers up the courage to continue. "I think if you give me the chance, I could make you happy. I'd like to be there for you, go on picnics and kiss you again. God would I love to kiss you again." His voice is shaking, I can hear it at the end of every word that just seems to drip with honey in my ears. "Can you stop by my room before you get back to work? Is that a possibility?" I shouldn't be asking, I don't want either of us to get into trouble, but I'm hopeless. I want to see him. I hear some papers shuffling on his end and some computer keys typing. "I just turned my computer off, I'll be there as soon as I can." He says happily "Wait for me." 

"Oh my God." I say to my reflection, he's on his way here??? I don't know why I asked him to come by! I'm completely unprepared to see anyone. I put my hair up in a bun and I'm in my pajamas! I have a pore strip on my nose for goodness sake! I jump up and rip the pore strip off of my nose and quickly splash some water on my face. I look in the mirror and sigh. It could be much worse, but I shouldn't prepare myself too much. I want him to like me for me, not for this person I'm so good at pretending I am. I should have a few moments before he shows up, I should ask someone for advice. I open the app and dial the first person that comes to mind. Yoosung. It's always Yoosung that I call first. He's my best friend in the RFA, he's almost like the twin brother I never had. Although he's so childish, he's a real romantic soul, and will probably have the best advice for me.

The line rings once before he picks up, he's always quick to answer, which is comforting. "Hey! Just in time for my LOLOL break! How's my favorite team member?" He's obviously having a good gaming night, which I would normally love to talk about, but I have very pressing matters at hand. "He's on his way here and I need help!" I spew words out and immediately regret my phrasing. "ARE YOU IN DANGER?" He's shouting and I can hear soda cans clatter around his room "WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? DO I NEED TO CALL V?" He's in full panic mode, I have to act quickly. "No! Yoosung that's not what I meant! I'm not in any danger! I'm only in danger of being completely mortified! The boy that I like is on his way to my location right now and I don't know how to act!" Yoosung's misunderstanding panic has driven my anxiety way up, I am in danger, but I have to ignore it because I'm trying so hard to be happy. "He's on his way to your location? Isn't your location... Oh. He's there at the place you're at already isn't he? Is it the hacker?" He's rambling, asking a bunch of questions we both know I can't answer and stressing me out even further. "Yoosung please help me" I whine into the phone, almost immediately he changes the subject to help me salvage the night. "Okay, well the most important thing is that you be yourself! As long as nothing awkward has happened, you should be fine! He probably just wants to spend time with you. Make sure you give me all of the details afterwards and have fun!" He's about to get off the phone? Already? "Yoosung! What kind of help was that? I was expecting much grander romantic ideas! You're a walking library of romance and video games!" I can hear him laughing away from the microphone "I meant what I said! Just be yourself! If he is worth anything then he'll like you for who you are! Awkwardness, and what I'm assuming at this hour is a clear face completely lacking makeup. He's going to love it! Just try and be happy about it! I mean it, I really want to hear how your date goes! I'd better get going though, my group is all ready to play, I'm the only one left. Call me later!" He hangs up the phone and I collapse on the bed.

He's bound to be here any minute, my nose is still a little red from the pore strip and my head is beginning to pound with anxiety, but also the pull from my hair being up. I decide to put some music on and I make sure the flowers he gave me are watered. I'm beginning to get worried when there is a quiet knock at the door. I practically sprint to the door and I fling it open. There he is, out of his regular multi piece suit, and in some more comfortable clothes, which makes me happy. That suit can't be comfortable, especially not for as much time as he works. His hair is pinned back and he looks tired. "You can always change your mind about inviting me over." He says this softly, as he observes me the same way I'm observing him, we're both in different more vulnerable states than we were when we were in the garden. "Not a chance." I smile at him and reach my hand out towards his, he accepts my hand and follows me into my room. We stand there by the door, just holding hands and looking at each other. I never want to forget this moment with him. I never want to forget what it feels like to present myself, flaws and all to someone. "You're beautiful." He says it and immediately covers his mouth with his free hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said my thoughts out loud. I'm sorry." He squeezes his eyes shut and I put my free hand on his cheek "Please tell me every thought you have about me, and you, and us. I'm never going to get tired of hearing you call me beautiful." I whisper softly so I don't startle him. He moves his hand from his mouth to hold my hand to his face. "I think you're beautiful too if it's any help." I smile up at him and his anxious expression fades to a small smile. "It does help, thank you. I came here immediately after we got off the phone and I didn't even stop to think about what I looked like. I just wanted to close the distance between us and be in your arms again." I pull myself closer to him and lean against his chest "Me too."

I know we can't stay together for very long, but I want to cherish this moment just like I cherish him. I close my eyes and take it all in, I feel him relax into the hug and he lays his head on mine. "I know you have to go back to work, but can we just hold each other for a little while longer?" I ask these words so quietly, hoping he wont hear me acknowledge our limited time, but he's in such close proximity that he hears my words immediately "I'll stay until you fall asleep, how does that sound?" I smile and run to get into bed. Once I've adjusted my pillow and gotten under the covers I look up to see him standing by the bed. He's not making a move to sit down, he's just standing there. "You can come up here if you'd like, I trust you!" I smile at him and pat the empty space in the bed beside me. He smiles sheepishly and sits next to me, finally letting himself relax a bit. "Hey." he says "Hey yourself." I reply. He puts his hand on my face and leans in to kiss me. It's a sweet, calm kiss, it feels like his lips are whispering secrets to mine that neither of us knows. After the kiss, he rests his forehead on mine and lets out a sigh. "I'm sor-" he starts, but I cut him off with another kiss, I pull back and wrap my arms around him in a hug "Please don't say you're sorry. Just forget everything else, just be here with me in this moment." He kisses my forehead and leans back, pulling me with him so I'm laying on his chest. "Go to sleep now, and I'll call you in the morning." He says this quietly and I drift off to sleep.

Sometime in the night he left my room to go back to work. I don't know when, but at 2:25 AM I awake from a nightmare. A nightmare of darkness and terror, a nightmare I would never wish on my worst enemy.. A waking nightmare... One that was about to come true. If I had known what was to come next, I never would've fallen asleep. 


	2. A striped carnation- I Wish I Could Be With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Striped Carnation: No; Refusal; Sorry I Can't Be with You: Wish l Could Be with You
> 
> Each chapter will be titled after a specific flower and I'll post the meaning here in the notes. Let me know what you think! I'm using the days and the chats as a general timeline. Please be advised that the beginning of this chapter has violent/abusive content, so feel free to skip over the first few paragraphs. (Go to the ~ dividing line!)
> 
> And thanks for patience with my slow upload! I work at one of the busiest places in the world and summer is our busy season, so I've been working long hours and five or six days a week. Today is the first time I have a chance to sit down and write, so again, thank you so much for your patience and for reading!

It's been a few days since he changed. He's locked me away, starved me and installed a camera. I've been at Mint Eye for eight days now. I've laid in bed for hours now, I feel like I'm going to die. I've never gone this long without eating or drinking water. I'm not an avid eater like Luciel or Yoosung, but I definitely eat regularly, so starving really isn't easy for me. As twisted as it is, I miss Saeran. He's treated me so terribly, but I know that it isn't all him. It's a monster she made inside him.. the unknown entity is the one that's visited me the last few days. He kicked me in the shin yesterday, just to make me fall to my knees. He called me clumsy and said I needed to work on my balance, 'only fools are so weak' he said. I closed my eyes and rolled on my side, theres the bruise from when he punched me in the ribs the day before that. Rika had sent a medical believer to make sure I wasn't suffering from internal bleeding after that hit.. I don't want to think about it anymore.

I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, trying to forget where I am and what's happening. If I could go through today without seeing him, that would be amazing. If I didn't have to see the unknown part of him or Rika today, it would be a miracle. Maybe if I stayed in bed and was very quiet, my wish would be granted.

Almost as if he had heard me, the door swung open and slammed against the wall. I quickly cover my head with a pillow and take a deep breath. "Don't you hide from me, little girl!" He's skipping, I can hear his rhythmic footfalls getting closer and closer as he bounds across the room. When he reaches me, he rips the pillow off of my head and tosses it over his shoulder, breaking the glass vase holding the dying flowers he'd given me days ago. He grabs me by the arm and drags me upwards into a sitting position. "You're going to look at me and you're going to listen, toy." I glare at him and then look over his shoulder. "You broke the vase." I whisper and frown, I'm not weak, but the tears are forming and I can't stop them. He laughs when he sees them "Did I now? Did I kill those stupid flowers too?" He grips my arm a little tighter and shakes me. My eyes flicker back to him and I can't stop myself from trying to get out of his grip. "Don't touch me." I growl, working my arm away from his fingers. Once I have his hand off of me, I push him out of the way with my legs, he trips backwards towards the broken glass. I get up and walk towards the flowers, hoping to rescue them from the glass, but he's back at me before I get the chance. He's grabbing my arm again and uses his other hand to grab a large shard of glass. "How  _dare_ you!" He shouts at me and is rushing me backwards. I slam against the wall and he brings the glass up near my neck "If you ever do that to me again, I swear I'll... I'll" He trails off and is looking at his reflection in the mirror behind me.

The grip on the piece of glass is eased, and it falls to the floor. I use his distraction to push the glass away with my toe, when I look back at him, he's still lost in the mirror. "Saeran?" I whisper. His eyes dart back to me. He's hyperventilating, the crushing grip on my arm grows more intense as his panic begins to set in. "I am  _not_ who you think I am." He growls at me and his free hand, now bloody from a cut he apparently gained from the glass, reaches up to grip my other arm. He's squeezing so hard I feel like my arms are going to burst. "Please stop, I know you're confused but I can help you. I'm your friend Saeran. I'm your friend." I plead with him, the tears really coming down now. I feel tears on my cheek and on my chest, but I realize they're not mine, they're his. He lets go of my arms and trips backwards a few steps and falls into the dresser. "I'm... I'm not _him._ " He shakes his head and presses his fists against his temples "I don't want to hurt her anymore! You have to stop!" He's screaming now, at himself... at the unknown entity. "Saeran it's okay, you're okay. Fight back against him, he's not you. Rika is not you!" I walk over to him and kneel in front of him, his eyes are wide and his hair has fallen into his face. His tears are still falling down his face and onto the floor.  "I don't know who I am anymore." He's looking at me again. "I just want to go back to that night. I should've stayed in bed with you until morning." I reach my hand up to touch his face and he quickly grabs my forearm. "Don't. You need to get away from me." He shoves me away and quickly steps towards the door.

"What the hell was that?" I whisper to myself as he storms out of the room. I'm left to clean myself up. A believer is sent in to clean up the glass and I hide the flowers under my pillow. Dead or not, they're important to me. When the believer leaves, I sit on the floor and look into the mirror. I observe the new bruises forming on my upper arms from how hard he was grabbing me. I sigh and my eyes are distracted by something shiny underneath the dresser. I turn around and crawl towards the dresser, I reach my hand under and I brush up against something sharp and sticky. My eyes widen, it's the glass shard. I look up, looking for the camera, when I see that it's not in my line of vision, and therefore I am not in it's line of vision, I take the glass out from under the dresser. It's long and with a little working, it would make a good knife. I'm not a violent person normally, but if Rika comes to get me, I wont regret having this to defend myself. I tuck it away inside of my bottom dresser drawer and get up. Was that Ray? Was it Saeran? Or has the Unknown finally broken down?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
It's been a few hours.. a few hours since Un- uh.. since Sae- er.. since Ray? It's all too confusing and I really wasn't one hundred percent sure what happened. It was Saeran and Unknown. He was both sides of himself and I had hope... even if it was just for a moment. He had entered the chatroom and denied it ever happened earlier this morning, but he seemed... well, calmer. He didn't call me his little toy, so he has to be changing. l. I don't know what to do. Rika is bound to get rid of me soon.. I can feel her closing in on me. She's losing patience, and I haven't been doing my designated job. I've been pushing him to think for himself and not let her rule his life. She's like me. She doesn't like to be powerless, at least I don't harm others in my strength. I help build up my friends so they aren't powerless either.

I pace around my room, I could just use this time to read books, or take a nap, but the hunger and the physical exhaustion from the fight earlier are really getting to me. Walking and thinking is more distracting than sitting around and letting myself finally feel and collapse. She wants me to collapse, I can feel someones eyes watching me through the camera. The last few days have been such a nightmare. I just want him to wake up, for good. I want him to feel better.. I want to help him. I pause by the window and look down into the garden. I can feel the hunger so intensely, my eyes slightly close and I have to grab onto the chair for support. I can't faint now, she's waiting for me to be vulnerable.. She's waiting for me to fail. She's waiting... she's.... I can't fight it anymore. The darkness engulfs me and I fall backwards onto the cold hardwood floor. I feel my body hit the ground but I can't stop it. My eyes, still slightly open look around for any sign that she's coming in. I hear a click at the door and I turn my head slowly to see what the noise is.. It's a follower. I was right.. She's coming for me now. I can't fight back, so I sleep.

 _"I just want to go back to that night. I should've stayed in bed with you until morning."_ What he says repeats in my head as I sleep  _"I don't know who I am anymore."_ I see him running towards the door and I run after him, but my legs can't move. And when I look up, he's further away. "Hey. Wake up!" I hear someone calling me. "No. No Saeran come back!" I fight against the urge to wake up. He's gone, and I'm awake.

"Hey" I hear a familiar voice calling me from the other side. I'm laying on a cushioned surface, my bed? That can't be right, they wouldn't have left me here, I should be down in the basement. My eyes slowly open and I struggle to register who I'm looking at. I blink a few times and look around the room, I'm definitely in my room still, I thought I was being taken away? "What's going on?" I manage to reply to my savior in a weak whisper. The man smiles at me and pats my head "I got a call from Luciel, he said that you weren't doing too well." I draw my eyebrows together in confusion, suddenly realizing who I'm looking at. " V? What are you doing in here? The camera!" I'm filled with adrenaline and terror. I start to struggle and get out of bed when he grabs my arms and gently shoves me back into the bed. "Luciel has managed to hack the camera and is currently playing old footage of you pacing the room. He noticed you becoming faint and put it on a loop. I don't think Saeran has noticed yet. We have to get you out of here though." He starts to move away and I grab his arm "I can't leave. She'll kill him, V." I trail off, realizing that we both know exactly what I know.

"You knew. The whole time you knew she wasn't dead." He looks down at the ground and doesn't respond. "You told everyone she was dead and you kept the truth to yourself." I stand up, and push him away from me, the anger filling me up more than a massive feast ever could. V shrinks away from me, ashamed and guilty. "I just thought it would be better for everyone if I took care of this myself." He replies weakly and looks on as I glare at him. "Obviously it wasn't better for anyone. Look what's become of Saeran and Luciel. Look what's happened to me... Look at yourself for Christ sake. You're barely keeping up with her and she's poisoning hundreds of people every day." I put my hands over my face and breathe out one long shaky stream of air. "You either stay here with me and help me save him or you get the Hell out of here and never show me your face again." I can feel my chest heaving with angry gusts of air, and I'm staring V down like I've never stared anyone down. He straightens himself and nods. "I'll help you save him, whatever you need. Just know that I have to saver her too." I nod at him, I can understand wanting to save someone you love, no matter how badly they've hurt you. I look around the room, trying to formulate a plan. "First I need to eat. I can't think over my stomach growling." I place my hands on my stomach and I can feel the low rumbles of hunger. "Good thing I came prepared!" He smiles and reaches into his cloak pocket, retrieving a small bag. "It's just some basic snacks, I couldn't smuggle a lot in." I take the bag and dump it out on my bed. I smile at what's inside. "Luciel packed it for you, he said he knew the right foods that a starved person needs to survive. I hope it's not just chips though." It wasn't chips, not at all. Luciel had packed strawberries and cashews, which he knew were two of my favorite things to eat, and had wrapped something sponge like in a separate parcel. I undid the twine around the paper carefully and peeled back the paper to reveal three neatly stacked fish shaped biscuits. "Bungeo-ppang!" I excitedly whispered. V smiled at me as I raised one of the biscuits to my mouth and took a massive bite out of it.

I savor the sweet taste of the bean paste and start to tear up "I'll have to thank him for this wonderful meal." Luciel and I had a conversation about these delicious biscuits awhile back, he had sent some to Yoosung and promised to send me some as soon as he could. "When my parents and I moved here, before we lost mom, we would go to the park and have a picnic, my father always got these for me because they were my favorite. The last thing my father ever gave to me was a package of these. We shared the last one and he told me he was proud of me." I close my eyes, returning to the bench at the hospital we sat at, I can almost feel the sweater I was wearing and hear my fathers voice "He told me to never forget who I was, or where I came from. He said if I did that, I'd always make him proud." V smiled at me from the bottom of the bed. "Sounds like you were one of the lucky ones in the group. Your father sounds like a good man." I held the biscuit close to my chest and smiled. "I think I know exactly what to do."

~Later that evening~

V left almost an hour ago, we had worked out a plan to save Saeran, and he said he would take care of Rika by himself. After a chat room with Rika, I felt very pressed to move quickly. Saeran was in danger and so was I. She was going to take him away, there was no doubt about it. She just had to find him. I sat at the desk by the window and slowly picked away at the berries and nuts Luciel had packed for me, I was saving the biscuits for later. I wasn't sure the next time I would have food, so the strawberries had to go first. I got up from the desk and changed into some black sweatpants and the white t-shirt I had been wearing when I arrived to Mint Eye. I sat in front of the mirror and started working my long hair into one long braid that would fall behind my back. I was halfway done with the braid when I heard a small knock at the door. "Hold on a moment!" I called quietly. I expected it to be a follower here to check the room before I went to sleep, so I figured they could wait for a moment. I was just about to finish my braid when the door creaked open. Saeran slipped through the small crack and closed the door quickly behind him. My mouth fell open and my hands flew away from the braid, the hair coming undone and cascading around me. I turned around and got up from my bench quickly. I went to move towards him, but I hesitated. His eyes were red and he looked exhausted. "Hey." I whispered and pulled at the hem of my shirt. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed "Hey yourself." He replied softly. I held back a smile, remembering a similar exchange that night he had come over. I bit my lip, waiting for him to break the silence and tell me what he was doing here.

"I'm sorry, I really am." His voice was so soft, and the apology was so sincere that it caught me by surprise. "I'm not sure who I am just yet, I have a lot to work through. But I do know I am sorry for starving you, making you a prisoner and.. well. For anything else I've done." I think back to that morning, and my hands rush to cover the bruises from his fingertips. His face falls a little and he makes a move towards me. I don't move, and I shove the fear in the back of my head down as far as I can. He doesn't seem like he's joking. He's not claiming to be Ray, he's Saeran in this moment. Just like he said, he's working out who he is. "Can I see what he... What I did?" He's closed the distance between us and is fidgeting with his hands. I look him in the eyes, looking for any sign that he's using this as a ruse to hurt me again, to see if the Unknown is lurking in the shadows. I see nothing, I just see him. I nod slightly and move my hands, he gently grasps my hand and pulls it out towards him to extend my arm. He frowns when he sees them there, the purpleish green bruises on my upper arm. He brushes his free hand against them, and leans his head down to kiss my arm. "I'm so sorry. I will get you out of here if it's the last thing I do." I watch him cover the bruises with his hand gently. He looks up at me and I sigh. "You promise this isn't a joke? You're not going to throw that in my face and break my ribs, are you?" My voice is shaky and I can tell I'm about to cry. Having him be so gentle after being so violent is such a strange thing. His brows furrow and he looks like he's going to break down into tears too. "I would never hurt you. Never. I just want you to be happy. I will fight back against that part of myself for the rest of my life. I want this moment, Hell, I want the rest of my moments with you to be untainted by violence." He lets go of my arm and steps closer to me, wrapping his left arm around my waist and using his right hand to cup my cheek and wipe away the tears escaping from my eyes. "I only want to make you cry when you're laughing so hard you can barely breathe, or when you're so happy that words won't say what you want them to." I close my eyes and lean into his hand. "I'm sorry if everything I'm saying is too direct, I just want you to know that I am so terribly sorry, and I love you. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." His voice is weak and shaky. I open my eyes and he's crying just as much as I am. "I love you too. I don't ever want you to have to fight him alone again. I'm here for you."

He wraps his right arm around my waist and brings me into a hug. I raise my arms and wrap them around his neck and cry into his chest. Rika, V, the RFA, Mint Eye, none of it exists in this moment. It's just the two of us, healing from the last few days, and I wouldn't have it any other way. "Stay with me tonight." I whisper to him and he nods. "Until morning, and forever after that." He leans down to kiss me, and I reach up onto my toes to kiss him back. The road to freedom is bound to be a rocky one, but I'm determined. By this time tomorrow, we'll be free. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do ya think? Any suggestions? I'm sorry I'm kind of skipping over things, a lot of the story that I have planned out is more after ending material, so I'm altering chat days to fit what I need them to fit! Thanks again for your patience! <3


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